2327. theristés

Lexical Summary

theristés: Reaper, harvester

Original Word: θεριστής
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: theristés
Pronunciation: theh-rees-TAYS
Phonetic Spelling: (ther-is-tace')
KJV: reaper
NASB: reapers
Word Origin: [from G2325 (θερίζω - reap)]

1. a harvester

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

reaper.

From therizo; a harvester -- reaper.

see GREEK therizo

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from therizó
Definition
a reaper
NASB Translation
reapers (2).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 2327: θεριστής

θεριστής, θεριστου, ὁ (θερίζω), a reaper: Matthew 13:30, 39. (Bel and the Dragon, 33; Xenophon, Demosthenes, Aristotle, Plutarch, others.)

Topical Lexicon

Overview

Strong’s Greek 2327 designates the “reapers” or “harvesters” in Jesus’ Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Matthew 13). The image draws on agrarian life familiar to first-century hearers and carries prophetic weight, depicting the climactic separation of the righteous from the wicked at the end of the age.

Old Testament Foundations

Harvest imagery permeates the Hebrew Scriptures. Ruth meets Boaz “at the time of the barley harvest” (Ruth 1:22), a setting that prefigures redemption. The prophets employ harvest both as blessing (Joel 2:24) and impending judgment (Isaiah 17:10-11). This dual thread—prosperity for the faithful, reckoning for the unfaithful—sets the stage for the New Testament’s eschatological use of “reapers.”

New Testament Usage

The noun appears twice, exclusively in Matthew 13 within one parable:
• Matthew 13:30 – servants are told, “Let both grow together until the harvest. At the time of the harvest I will tell the reapers, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”
• Matthew 13:39 – Jesus explains, “The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.”

Parable Context

1. Sowing (Matthew 13:24) – The Son of Man sows good seed.
2. Counter-sowing – An enemy introduces tares, underscoring spiritual opposition.
3. Coexistence – The field (world) contains righteous and wicked together.
4. Command to wait – Premature pulling risks harming wheat; patience preserves the elect.
5. Reapers’ mission – Angels execute perfect judgment, free from human error.

Eschatological Significance

The reapers symbolize the certainty, precision, and divine origin of final judgment:
• Certainty – A day is fixed: “the end of the age.”
• Precision – Angels discern wheat from weeds infallibly (cf. 2 Timothy 2:19).
• Divine origin – Judgment is God’s prerogative, assuring moral order and vindication.

Parallel imagery appears in Revelation 14:14-20, where the Son of Man swings a sharp sickle. Both passages highlight that the ultimate sorting is heavenly, not sociopolitical.

Angelology

Matthew 13:39 contributes to biblical angelology, revealing angels as:
• Servants executing divine justice.
• Participants in eschatological events (cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:7).
• Holy counterparts to the demonic enemy who sowed weeds.

Christological Focus

Though angels reap, authority rests with the Son of Man (Matthew 13:41). The passage affirms:
• Christ’s sovereign rule over angelic hosts.
• His role as Judge (John 5:22).
• The unity of His redemptive and judicial missions—He both sows and commands harvest.

Pastoral and Ministry Applications

1. Evangelism – Urgency arises from knowing a fixed harvest awaits (John 4:35-38).
2. Patience – Churches endure mixed congregations, trusting God for final sorting.
3. Holiness – Awareness of angelic observation (1 Corinthians 4:9) encourages purity.
4. Hope – Believers find comfort that righteous wheat will be gathered “into My barn,” a picture of eternal safety (Revelation 21:27).

Historical Note

First-century Galilee saw harvesters hired at dawn (Matthew 20:1-8). Jesus’ audience readily envisioned men with sickles moving through fields of grain. By casting angels in this familiar role, He bridged everyday experience with transcendent reality.

Summary

Strong’s Greek 2327 represents more than laborers in a field; it encapsulates the angelic agents of God’s end-time justice. Rooted in Old Testament precedent, clarified by Jesus, and echoed in apocalyptic vision, the reapers underscore the sure, righteous, and imminent consummation of God’s redemptive plan.

Forms and Transliterations

θερισται θερισταί θερισταὶ θερισταις θερισταίς θερισταῖς θέριστρα θέριστρον theristai theristaì theristais theristaîs

Englishman's Concordance

Matthew 13:30 N-DMP
GRK: ἐρῶ τοῖς θερισταῖς Συλλέξατε πρῶτον
NAS: I will say to the reapers, First
KJV: I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together
INT: I will say to the harvesters Gather first

Matthew 13:39 N-NMP
GRK: οἱ δὲ θερισταὶ ἄγγελοί εἰσιν
NAS: of the age; and the reapers are angels.
KJV: and the reapers are
INT: and [the] harvesters angels are

Strong's Greek 2327
2 Occurrences

θερισταὶ — 1 Occ.
θερισταῖς — 1 Occ.